Ethics cop criticizes INDOT official at press conference

Indiana's top ethics policeman strongly criticized former Indiana Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Troy Woodruff today, saying that his conduct "sure looked bad" and "goes right up to the line" of breaking state ethics laws.

At a press conference, Inspector General David Thomas said that even though no charges were filed against Woodruff, his case demonstrates why it's important for government employees to openly and publicly declare potential conflicts of interest.

In response to a question about of whether Woodruff was cleared outright, Thomas tersely responded: "When you engage in conduct that goes right up to the line and then you dance away from the line and say, 'I wasn't (in violation),' that's OK, but this is what happens." Thomas added that he hoped the media "could hear the frustration" in his voice.

Woodruff, who resigned Thursday, said in an email to INDOT staffers that the media portrayed him and INDOT unfairly. He faced a host of ethics questions about land sales to INDOT, possible nepotism and his involvement in a bridge project that benefited his relatives.

After a 19-month probe prompted by an Indianapolis Star investigation, Thomas cleared Woodruff of breaking the law in a report Thursday. Thomas urged INDOT to not allow Woodruff to do business with the agency for a year, and reform its internal ethics policies. The agency says it will follow Thomas' recommendations.

Thomas said the entire investigation could have been avoided had Woodruff followed the advice of INDOT's ethics officer and declared to the state ethics commission his sale of 3 acres of land to INDOT. Instead, out of fear it would draw more attention to the heavily scrutinized former lawmaker, he did not.

While technically not illegal, Woodruff's actions created enough of an appearance of impropriety, it naturally fueled suspicion and prompted a multi-agency law enforcement investigation that inconvenienced more than two dozen people, Thomas said.

"I just hope that when people realize that when you go close to that line, you're not only affecting yourself, you're affecting a lot of people," Thomas said.

Thomas noted that in a similar case involving a land sale with his relatives in Northern Indiana, former INDOT Commissioner Michael Cline had declared the sale with the ethics commission. Thomas said Cline made the disclosure even though he knew he wasn't in any danger of breaking any laws.

As for Woodruff's role in a bridge replacement project that ended up costing taxpayers $770,444, Thomas said simply: "It sure looked bad," though, again, it didn't violate any laws.